F1: Rosberg heads off Hamilton to extend lead in Austria

F1 returns to Austria – Nico Rosberg celebrates with his Mercedes team after victory in Formula One's Austrian Grand Prix at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

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F1 returns to Austria5 photos

F1 returns to Austria – The German claimed the checkered flag ahead of second-placed Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to extend his championship lead.

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F1 returns to Austria – Felipe Massa of Williams had started on pole and led into the first corner, but ended the race fourth behind young teammate Valtteri Bottas.

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F1 returns to Austria – Red Bull's world champion Sebastian Vettel failed to finish a race for the third time this season after being forced to retire after 37 laps.

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Austrian F1 Grand Prix – Fans walk around a giant Red Bull sculpture before the race at the revamped Red Bull Ring in the town of Spielberg. The grand prix was the first to be held in Austria in 11 years.

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Story highlights

Nico Rosberg extends world championship lead with victory in Austria

Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton finishes second as both nurse cars home

Williams team claims third and fourth with Valtteri Bottas and polesitter Felipe Massa

Red Bull struggles on rebuilt home circuit, hosting F1 race for first time since 2003

Inside the Red Bull Ring -- home to the returning Austrian Grand Prix -- Mercedes toreadors Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were effectively left to slog it out by their peers in Sunday's race.

Hamilton flew from ninth to fourth by the end of the first lap to once again put himself into a fight with his teammate and chief world title rival.

The two Mercedes circled each other like silver sharks in the final 20 laps around the undulating circuit but each time Hamilton bit into Rosberg's lead, the German responded.

There was to be no final attack and Rosberg took a third win of the season to stretch his lead in the 2014 Formula One drivers' championship to 29 points.

"It's a nice gap," said Rosberg, who remains determined to stem rising expectation that he will emulate his father Keke and be crowned world champion.

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A resurgent Williams team announced itself as Mercedes' closest rivals after Felipe Massa had taken pole position ahead of teammate Bottas.

But the former champions appeared to run a conservative race, content to settle with third place for Bottas -- the first podium of the Finn's career -- rather than risk a solid result by taking the fight to Mercedes.

Dictated by Williams' tire strategy, Massa had to pit for fresh rubber three laps after Rosberg, effectively surrendering the lead. The Brazilian eventually finished fourth.

Bottas said: "Overall it was my best ever weekend so I'm really happy.

"We need to analyze if there was anything we could have done better. It was difficult to know the real difference between optimum (supersoft tire) and prime (soft tire) so we really thought it would be difficult to undercut."

Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz is credited with returning the Austrian Grand Prix to the calendar after an 11-year absence.

After revamping the picturesque A1 Ring circuit and renaming it the Red Bull Ring, the owner of the race team with the same name probably expected to see his four-time world champions run rings round the competition.

It was ironic that the power-dependent circuit did not suit Red Bull's car or the 2014 Renault engines that give his Bulls their muscle.

Daniel Ricciardo -- a surprise winner in Canada last time out -- finished eighth while reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel had to suffer the ignominy of retiring with engine trouble at the halfway point.